The present invention relates to micrographics and more particularly to improvements in systems and methods for microimage recorders such as COM (Computer Output on Microfilm) recorders.
The use of microimage records such as microfilm rolls or microfiche cards to retain, distribute and display the enormous amounts of information and data generated by computers and other sources has increased dramatically in recent years It is far more economical and efficient to record & distribute microimage records than huge stacks of computer generated and printed documents.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,123,157; 4,332,466; 4,382,675 and 4,501,487 disclose microimage recorders where images are exposed onto film and then transferred onto microfiche cards or roll film. In the '466 patent, a linear array of images is exposed onto a master film 5 from a cathode ray tube (CRT) and subsequently transferred onto a film 19'. A carriage 20 supporting the film 19' is moved relative to the film 5 each time a single image or frame is to be transferred. In the '487 patent, a linear array of images is exposed from a document receiving platform onto a film 12. Images are transferred to a microfiche film card carried in a carriage 54 moved each time an image is to be transferred.
In the '675 patent, a CRT display is imaged onto a film within a cassette mounted on a carriage assembly 39. Carriage 39 is moved along rods 40 to a transfer station 43 where the image is transferred onto a film 42a. Film 42a is disposed on a carriage 45 shiftable relative to the first carriage assembly 39 to transfer the image frames. Another example of transferring film images using systems with shiftable carriages is shown in the '157 patent.
In all of the systems disclosed in the above-mentioned patents, the master film and/or the duplicate film are disposed on shiftable carriages with the attendant structural and control complexities. None is concerned with dispensing individual completed microfiche records from a self-contained microimage recorder.